Auger-Aliassime closes in on ATP Finals spot with win over Vacherot in Paris

PARIS — Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the semifinals of the Paris Masters tennis tournament and picked up crucial points in his bid to qualify for the year-ending ATP Finals.

Auger-Aliassime moved on with a 6-2, 6-2 win over wild card Valentin Vacherot of Monaco on Friday and will face 13th-seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the final four.

The win over the in-form Vacherot also moved Auger-Aliassime just 90 points behind Lorenzo Musetti in the race for the eighth and final berth at the ATP Finals, which kicks off next month in Turin, Italy. A semifinal win would move Auger-Aliassime past the Italian, who lost in the second round in Paris.

Auger-Aliassime had been grinding out three-set wins and fighting through tiebreaks heading into the quarterfinals, while Vacherot was on a 10-match winning streak at the ATP 1000 level. He won the last Masters-level event earlier this month in Shanghai.

But Auger-Aliassime, seeded ninth in Paris, seemed to find another gear against Vacherot. The 25-year-old from Montreal won 89 per cent of first-serve points and saved the only two break points he faced.

“Every opponent is different. It was an interesting challenge coming onto court today and playing a player I knew from practice but had never played in a match,” Auger-Aliassime said.

“He is so confident and you are kind of scared to be honest. You are not sure if he has got some magic right now that nobody else has but he is playing unbelievably. But I had to be so focused from the start and this level of intensity from the first game I brought helped ease me into the match and I played some good tennis.”

He held Vacherot to 6-of-39 on return points, while winning 49 per cent (30 of 61) of his returns and breaking his opponent four times.

Auger-Aliassime is trying for his ninth career title and first at the Masters level.

Bublik advanced with a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5 upset of sixth-seed Alex de Minaur of Australia. Auger-Aliassime has a career 3-2 record against Bublik.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2025.